09

2012

Key Findings from the Fossil Record

Mixing Evolution and Belief

Religion and science have long been seen as incompatible; it’s the view that Robert Asher grew up with during his deeply Presbyterian childhood in Western New York. But since then, through years of studying early mammals and exploring fossil records, he found that no other theory comes close to Darwin’s as an explanation for the world’s incredible biodiversity.

So how can he maintain his belief in God, when the ongoing culture wars between Darwinists and fundamentalists suggest that the two sides can never come together? InEvolution and Belief, Asher offers an up-to-date primer of the current state of evolutionary theory to demonstrate how the evidence in favor of Darwinian evolution is remarkably abundant. But in outlining the scope of Darwin’s idea, he shows how evolution concerns the cause of biodiversity, rather than the agency behind it.

Journey through time in our slideshow of key moments in the fossil record below, and don’t forget to check out this month’s installation of The Cambridge Book Club for additional content. As always, we invite you to join the discussion on Facebook, or chime in on Twitter using the hashtag #cambridgeideas.